Everything You Need to Know About “Adam” in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

As you may know by now, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ends with not one but five post-credits scenes. (You can see a rundown of all of them here.) The majority are light and breezy inside jokes, but two hint at the future of both the ragtag Guardians and the more traditionally heroic Avengers. There’s one revelation in particular that has wide-reaching implications. For some help with what you just saw (and a little background from the comics), check out the full story below the spoiler jump. Are you sure you’re ready for it? Here we go.

As you might expect, the disruptive Guardians (Star Lord, Rocket, Baby Groot, Gamora, and Drax) spend Vol. 2 doing exactly what they always do: ticking off as many people as possible while also managing to save the day. But the main person they offend is Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the gold-plated leader of the Sovereign. Midway through the credits, a fuming Ayesha, having been bested throughout by Peter Quill and company, vows she will have her revenge and unveils the ultimate weapon, saying: “I think I will call him Adam.”

Comic-book experts knew exactly who she meant. In fact, director James Gunn has made no secret about the fact that he originally intended to include Adam—full name Adam Warlock—in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but snipped him for time. Adam Warlock’s famously weird-looking cocoon from the comics actually made its way into the background of the first Guardians film, in the Easter egg–filled scene with Benicio del Toro’s Collector. Blink and you might have missed it.

That cocoon got a much fancier, gold-encrusted update for Vol. 2. O.K.; we know Adam Warlock has been in the works for a long time. But who is he, exactly? Well, in the comics, he’s a super-being who is strong, fast, durable, and doesn’t need to eat or drink. He can also heal and fly and is functionally immortal because he can continuously heal himself in that creepy-looking cocoon. He also looks incredibly fly in a red bathing suit.

And while Adam Warlock will likely get a cooler makeover for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, one accessory will probably follow him to the new franchise. Warlock derives a good deal of his power from the Soul Gem, which, if you’re keeping score at home, is the only one of the Infinity Stones that has not been revealed in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

(If you haven’t been keeping score at home and don’t even know what an Infinity Stone is, you can read all about them here.) But all you really need to know about the Infinity __Stones is that they power a terrifying weapon called the Infinity __Gauntlet, and that’s why the upcoming Avengers film is subtitled, you guessed it, Infinity War. The plot of that 2018 film, according to Marvel: “Four years after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Avengers, torn apart after the events of Captain America: Civil War, join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle Thanos, who is trying to amass the Infinity Stones for a gauntlet that will give him dominion over space, time, and all reality.” Guess who also wore that gauntlet in the comics? I mean, is there anything Adam Warlock can’t do?

Interestingly, despite his relationship to Soul Gems and Infinity Gauntlets, Adam Warlock is apparently not in the Infinity War itself—though he is confirmed for GuardiansVol. 3 and could easily show up in time to save the day in Avengers 4. See how suave he looks punching the lights out of Marvel super-villain Thanos, played in the films by Josh Brolin—under thick layers of C.G.I. paint and, usually, sitting down.

O.K., but if Adam Warlock is punching villains like Thanos and potentially saving the day in Avengers 4, shouldn’t that put him on the side of the Guardians? In other words, has the gold-painted Ayesha really created an enemy for the Guardians? Or did she actually just build them a new best friend? Well, given that both Volume 1 and Volume 2 dealt with Peter Quill’s enemies eventually becoming his fellow Guardians, I’m guessing Warlock will be first foe and then friend. (In the comics, Adam is awfully close to Gamora.) The only question now: Who will play him? Hmmmmmm . . . who is brimming with muscles and looks great in a red bathing suit? Who indeed?